for every sin and god fall

SUNJATA

look who's digging their own grave
this is what they all say; you'll drink yourself to death

A lot has seemingly happened in the span of a short few weeks and Sunjata whirls with the mixture of emotions that course through him and the things that have happened in between. One thing is for certain, he hasn’t exactly had a chance to talk to Isla since it all happened, and with the quest being complete? Well, things have slotted all into the right places, even if everything else has started to feel a bit unsteady.

Including, Frey’s attempts to get Phoebe and him into a friendship, and his reconnection with Hotaru which he's sure isn't exactly a conversation Isla wants to have. But he still needs to talk with her, she’s his business partner after all, and he certainly doesn’t want to continue in his old habits of avoiding it until it becomes a problem.

So he finds her in the clinic wing of the brothel, slipping in and stepping up towards the desk, clearing his throat before asking “Isla? Do you have a moment?”

look who makes their own bed, lies right down within it
and what will you have left?

Isla

If there's one thing for certain, it's that Sunjata's completion of the brothel has made things busier for everyone, to the point where Isla hasn't even had time to properly consider (read: dwell on) what drunkenly unfolded while they were out at Torchline. Between check-ups, treatments, restocking and the odd emergency, the medic has to admit that whilst she's very experienced in the human anatomy, she's still never seen quite so many genitals so regularly.

And with only one pair of hands, it's safe to say that she's barely got time to eat and sleep (who knew she'd ever miss being Ascended, when she didn't have to care about it). As Sunjata approaches the desk, the Remedy is rummaging around beneath it for a file that has slipped down the back of a shelf; and it's her hand that emerges first, setting down a small, clear vial.

"I will need you to fill one of these - three guesses as to with what. And yes, your first answer is incorrect," she says on autopilot, though with the Flood's accent, she really ought to have known better. Straightening at last, her golden hair pulled up into a messy bun and the missing file tucked under one arm, it's only as she glances up (and up and up) that she realises the identity of her visitor.

"Oh - fuck. I'm sorry, Jata. I thought you were a patient."

sooner or later, we all have to wake
and try forgetting everything

SUNJATA

look who's digging their own grave
this is what they all say; you'll drink yourself to death

He can hear her rummaging around down beneath the desk and he starts to lean over it about the time her hand appears with the clear vial. His brows immediately pinch together and he withdraws a fraction, eyes finally lifting from the cup to look at her as he utters a baffled “what?” He knows what it’s for, but he isn’t here for that in-depth of a check up.

And besides, when it came to those he’s slept with? Well, Isla’s the only one as of late.

She looks exhausted and the smile that graces his face in greeting is softer, warmer at her apology. “It’s okay. You’ve been busy and it’s slowed down, thought maybe we could talk and get lunch.” Get her away from it for a little bit, now that it’s picked up. Right now, there’s a lull, and he’s sure that everyone would let her take a bit of time to herself after everything she’s been doing for the House of Midnight.

look who makes their own bed, lies right down within it
and what will you have left?

Isla

Already laughing out a secondary apology and putting back the vial, Isla is turning to put away the file in a place where it can't yeet itself down the back of the counter when Sunjata speaks again. Glancing over her shoulder as if to ask whether he's serious, it's a doubletake before she realises the clinic is actually empty right now, apart from the two of them. "Lunch sounds great," she admits with a grateful smile, shrugging out of her labcoat (and how weird it is to be wearing one of those again) and hanging it on a hook nearby.

"What did you want to get?" she asks, standing up a small sign to say she'll be back in 30mins before sidling out from behind the counter, gesturing for Sunjata to lead the way. "I'm surprised you're the one remembering to eat, honestly. Colour me impressed."

sooner or later, we all have to wake
and try forgetting everything

SUNJATA

look who's digging their own grave
this is what they all say; you'll drink yourself to death

Lunch did sound great, honestly, and as she finishes up putting the file away and he continues to stand idly by the desk, he brightens at her response, stepping back to make room as some proverbial bouncer to say let her have a moment in case anyone comes in. They don’t, which is relieving, and he waits for her to join him at his side.

“Was thinking of having the cooks make up some kind of steak dish and we can eat outside.” Perhaps heavy for lunch, but he’s starving and knowing her? She’d likely have no complaints with it. And he knows from just finishing up inventory there’s plenty to go around.

As for the fact he’s remembered to eat, he huffs a laugh and nods. “I ended up eating three meals in Torchline while we were there and since then it’s like my body remembered food is important.” He rolls his eyes playfully as if to say it wasn’t something he considered important, but that wasn’t out of the ordinary. But since having breakfast with Hotaru, it had sparked his sense of needing to eat all that much more.

He steps toward the door, holding it open for her to slip out of before joining her toward the kitchens.

look who makes their own bed, lies right down within it
and what will you have left?

Isla

"Your ideas are getting better, you know," Isla informs the Flood, because no, an Ancient isn't going to complain about steak - who does he think she is? Granted, hers will be as close to raw as she can have it, and she's starting to understand what that means, but she can go out later.

"Three whole meals," she continues with a gasp of faux surprise, sidling out after him and heading towards the kitchens. "You ought to be careful - people will start asking you out to dinner." They are plunged, briefly, into the heady half-light of the House of Midnight, of the smell of sweat and spice, and Isla is practically brushing it off by the time they're back in the corridors and the kitchens are upon them.

"I'm happy to hear it, though," she adds, of his returning appetite, Isla smiling and greeting the cooks and relaying Sunjata's lunchtime idea. "If you find me asleep on my desk later, please wake me up," she tells him.

sooner or later, we all have to wake
and try forgetting everything

SUNJATA

look who's digging their own grave
this is what they all say; you'll drink yourself to death

Her approval of his suggestion relaxes him, managing another soft snort, lighter now than he has been even if the potential heavy topics still await them. At least it hasn’t been something needed to be said so quickly, giving him time to figure out what was going on rather than running head first into it impulsively as he was prone to do.

Three whole meals, indeed, and barks a laugh at her comment as the warmth and darkness of the House of Midnight overtakes them on their way to the kitchens. “So far so good.” Now, asking for trips to hot springs and reconnecting? Those were plans made already. “It’s been strange though.” To pay attention to his body when it tells him he’s hungry rather than ignoring it.

Isla relays their choices to the kitchens and he leans against a counter out of the way while they start to make it, watching the cooks idly, before his gaze sweeps back toward her with a playful grin. “What kind of monster do you think I am?” No way in hell he would wake her up if she slept so soundly. “I’d only wake you up to get you into an actual bed. Besides, you look like you could use a good nights sleep.” His grin shifts a bit apologetic as he nudges her with an elbow.

look who makes their own bed, lies right down within it
and what will you have left?

Isla

"A good strange, I hope," Isla says with a smile over her shoulder for him. "I know it was for me, anyway." Granted, she'd gone from not having the urge at all to suddenly feeling hunger and exhaustion and everything else, so it was a little more intense than what Sunjata means. Either way, though, it's been a learning curve she's recently mastered (mostly), so she can relate.

Reminding herself not to lurk over the cooks' shoulders while they cook their lunch, Isla steps back with Sunjata and is in the middle of hiding a sneaky yawn behind her hand when he speaks up. "I do not," she objects (despite it being true), swatting at his elbow and managing a small smile. "It's been a while since I had to feel the consequences of working late," she admits. "You're probably right - if I'm too tired I might make mistakes, and no one wants that."

sooner or later, we all have to wake
and try forgetting everything

SUNJATA

look who's digging their own grave
this is what they all say; you'll drink yourself to death

He hums a considering sound under his breath before nodding and reaching up to prod at his shoulder.”Not so lanky since it started.” He’s been filling out again, rather than his slow attempts to starve himself. So, he’ll consider that a good thing.

He’s half distracted by his stomach growling after he pokes fun at her and focuses intensely at her when she swats at his elbow, snorting a laugh. “Rest is important. As you have reminded me time and time again.” He hums another quiet chuckle, overall appearing brighter since their adventure to Torchline despite the drunken night that had seemingly gone awry.

The food luckily doesn’t take too long, Sunjata a fan of a rare steak (not as rare as Isla’s), but the dishes are plated up and set on the counter for them with the sides and he takes both of theirs to head out through the kitchens again (only after asking Isla to grab something for them to drink and a couple of glasses), into the dim interior of the brothel before slipping through another door toward some outdoor seating, under an umbrella in the high sun.

look who makes their own bed, lies right down within it
and what will you have left?

Isla

Humming something that sounds frankly disbelieving, Isla raises her eyebrows at Sunjata and looks him up and down. "Sorry, but I think you're always going to be a bit lanky." As if to make her point, she gestures between the two of them with a grin as if to show that, even at an above average height for a woman, Sunjata is tol and she is smol.

"Oh, hush - how dare you use my own advice against me," she huffs at him, and it's lucky that he asks her to get something to drink, else Isla might assume he's taking both of their plates with the intention of eating her food. Indeed, there's still a touch of something suspicious in her expression as she fetches two glasses and a bottle of sweet summer wine from an icebox, the Remedy following after him.

Sidling outside and beneath the umbrella, Isla relaxes into the heat of the day almost instantly, sinking into her seat and pouring them both a drink. "Alright, this was a great idea," she confesses to Sunjata. "Did you say you wanted to talk about something, or did I imagine it?"

sooner or later, we all have to wake
and try forgetting everything

SUNJATA

look who's digging their own grave
this is what they all say; you'll drink yourself to death

“Listen, if I wasn’t so tall.” He mutters, flashing her a playful smile as he grabs the plates and asks for her to get the drinks, chuckling as she complains about him using her advice against him. It doesn’t take long to retrieve the rest of everything, stepping out into the warm sunny day, sliding her plate in front of her while he puts his in front of him and gets the silverware ready.

A softer smile crosses his face as she tells him this was a great idea, his head inclining slightly in agreement, at least until the crux of the issue comes to hand with the question she asks and he nods. “Yes, I did.” He pauses, cutting into his steak and not yet taking a bite as he looks up at her. “It seems Frey wants me to repair relationships.” This one comes with a slight wince, followed by an exhale to take a sip from his glass that she’s poured.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard the gossip going around, but, Phoebe was here the other day. Frey wants us to try and play nice with one another.” Which is something Sunjata thinks he can do, of course, but it isn’t the whole of the issue. “And, Hotaru stopped by just after Phoebe.” His gaze focuses on her intently, as if waiting to see what kind of reaction each of those names would bring.

look who makes their own bed, lies right down within it
and what will you have left?

Isla

"I could always perform an amputation on your legs," Isla says with a touch of wistfulness. "Then you'd never have to worry about being too tall or lanky again." Somehow she feels as though he won't really go for such a thing, and so the Remedy hides her smile behind a sip of her drink. As he explains Frey's new set of desires for him, the medic offers him a nod of encouragement, setting her glass down.

"It's about time you did," she agrees. "Going to Torchline really put it into perspective, how many people you know." To still feel so deafeningly alone in such a crowd isn't a fate Isla would wish on many. Still, Sunjata persists, and as his steel gaze meets her own, she isn't sure what he's expecting. For her to flip the table? Throw wine in his face? Set fire to the bar?

Inhaling deeply and letting it out again, she reaches across the table to rest her hand over the Flood's. "You can say what's really on your mind," she coaxes. "I'm not the drunken mess I was when you had to carry me across the beach."

sooner or later, we all have to wake
and try forgetting everything

SUNJATA

look who's digging their own grave
this is what they all say; you'll drink yourself to death

“I think that’s immensely impractical.” He immediately states, content with being too tall and lanky despite what he does – but at least he’s gotten past the part of malnourishment. He’s filled out, looks better and healthier, even if he’s still a bit lanky, and the muscles that linger beneath the clothes he wears certainly adds to the factor of his strength.

To hear her agree, however, is something that causes him to nod – Sunjata knew a lot of people, but it was mostly the fact that he barely had any good interactions with them over the time leading up to the war was the main crux of his issues of reconnecting. “It did.” He decides to say instead, though he didn’t miss the attention, he missed the surprising warmth people had toward him. It was an unusual feeling, truth be told.

He doesn’t know what he expects her to say when he tells her, but he remains watching her as her hand comes to cover over his own, mind flickering back toward the night in Torchline, unsure whether or not it would be a good idea to bring it up in the first place again, after she’d told him not to read into it. He had. So he squeezes her hand, takes a deep breath and nods. “I… Told Hotaru what we talked about.” The initial time he’d picked her up to take her to the Inn, that perhaps he shouldn’t let himself become as much of a hermit as he has. That maybe he should tell her how he feels. “And we’re going to start over our friendship and see where it goes.” Friendship was the key word, because the two of them had grown smarter with it, that they knew they needed to work things out before it was possible to ever try to be with each other again.

Growth, right? Instead of impulsively diving in head first, he’s contemplative and taking his time making these decisions.

look who makes their own bed, lies right down within it
and what will you have left?

Isla

"I think you need to expand your horizons," Isla informs him, and it's a shame that they can't continue on this vein of dry sass, because it's where they both seem to shine best for each other. Alas. It's not as though the Remedy doesn't see it coming, based on the conversations leading up to this point, and she's glad he's able to say it out loud instead of dancing around the subject. Does it hurt, though? Of course it does.

"I'm happy for the both of you," she says softly, because what kind of person wouldn't be happy for their friend? The insidious thoughts that want to gnaw at her insides have no place here; Isla will hone them sharp for later, when she's by herself. Swallowing and slipping her hand back out of the Flood's, she offers him an awkward sort of smile. "I suppose I should find myself somewhere else to stay in that case?"

She's sure Hotaru won't appreciate the mixed messages. (Speaking, of course, from experience).

sooner or later, we all have to wake
and try forgetting everything